• What Would the Pilgrims Say About Tofu?
    Forget the pilgrims. What's my Southern family going to say when I skip the Turkey this Thanksgiving?
  • Oprah's Blackest Moments
    Oprah Winfrey recently announced plans for retirement in 2011. The talk show host may have a stronghold on white, suburban housewives, but The Root contributors remember moments when Oprah kept it real—black.  
  • What Kobe, LeBron and Dwyane Owe Spencer Haywood
    Forty years ago, Haywood became the first player to leave college early and go to the pros—proving that young players got game, too.
  • Shaniya's Shame
    The murder of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis highlights a disturbing and growing trend in the U.S.: the trafficking of young girls into sexual slavery.
  • Storming the Court?
    When it comes to appointing federal judges, President Obama shouldn’t try to play center. Centrist judges will not balance judges on the right. Left balances right.
  • Maybe Your Great-Grandmother Really Was Cherokee
    A new exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian traces black-Native American relations from the 1500s to the present.
  • The (Not So) New World Order
    Yinka Shonibare MBE’s career retrospective at the Smithsonian just goes to show how strange things get when the empire strikes black.
  • Turkey Fry Gone Awry
    Want a deep-fried turkey for the holidays? Be afraid. Be very afraid. Grease + propane + bird on a wire = disaster waiting to happen.
  • Rakim's Back
    Def Jam is 25. "Rapper’s Delight" is 30. And Rakim is 41. But with his latest album, The Seventh Seal, hip-hop heads can remember the best of the golden age.
  • How ‘Precious’ Is Like Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’
    Nope, I didn’t see the movie, and I’m not going to read the book. I’m tired of being played by over-hyped productions.
  • Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In
    With more than half the NFL’s season gone, the New Orleans Saints are still undefeated. Can they run the table?
  • Star-Spangled Muslims
    The Ft. Hood tragedy is a citizenship test for Muslim Americans—and everyone else.
  • Does Hollywood Still Have a Brown Paper Bag Test?
    When it comes to colorism, “Precious” is still the same old, same old.
  • On the Road to Entrepreneurship
    In an excerpt from their book, Down to Business: The First 10 Steps to Entrepreneurship for Women, Clara and Alicia Villarosa list the top eight reasons why people decide to start their own business.
  • The Color Precious
    Why hasn't “Precious” received “The Color Purple” treatment?
  • Did Burris Save the Public Option?
    From Senate jester to prime-time player, how Sen. Roland Burris may have punked the Democrats.  
  • The Truth About Incest
    Kudos to Hollywood for finally tackling the taboo topic of incest.
  • What’s Islam Got to Do With It?
    From the D.C. sniper to Ft. Hood, it’s un-American to blame black people or Muslims for what crazy people do.
  • Why Black People Took to the Streets in Chicago
    This debate about the proposed consumer protection agency is a big, big deal for black America. We can’t afford to sit it out.
  • The D.C. Sniper Should Die. But Not Like This.
    I’ll be glad to see John Allen Muhammad go for his murderous rampage. But the death penalty is still wrong.
  • When Lawyers Go Rogue
    The Supreme Court considers what to do when prosecutors play dirty.
  • Did the Ft. Hood Killer Go Postal or Go Terrorist?
    If the alleged shooter acted out of personal anger, the tragedy may be more Columbine than jihad. No one should make any assumptions until all the facts are out.
  • Happy 35th Birthday, Black Book!
    The scrapbook of African-American history that Toni Morrison calls “a requirement for our national health” is still as beautiful and maddening as ever.   PLUS: See our scrapbook of images from The Black Book.
  • Takin' It to the Street (Sesame Street, That Is)
    On Sesame Street's 40th anniversary, The Root takes a look back at some of the show's guest appearances by some of our favorite black celebrities.   PLUS: Why Big Bird is still cooler than Dora the Explorer.
  • Hollywood: Same As It Ever Was
    Even with Oscar buzz and record-breaking box office success, “Precious” isn’t likely to blow up the careers of its female stars. Black actresses still have a hard row to hoe. Just ask Angela Bassett—and Cicely Tyson.
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